SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Only one game stood between No. 15/16 Augustana football and a picture-perfect Senior Day send-off, a division championship, a conference championship and a postseason bid—and the Vikings made the most of it by taking down #24 Wayne State, 34-24, on Saturday afternoon at Kirkeby-Over Stadium.
The win propels AU to a 9-2 overall finish in the regular season with an 8-2 showing in the conference while WSC drops to 8-3 and 7-3. The Senior Day victory also helped the Vikings clinch a share of the 2026 NSIC South Division championship and the 2026 NSIC championship while all but securing their place in the NCAA playoffs.
Gunnar Hensley completed 27 of 41 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns and added 33 rushing yards.
DJ Page caught eight passes for 184 yards and a touchdown while
Breylon Blount rushed 19 times for 117 yards and a touchdown and added four receptions for 23 yards.
Alex Belongia recorded six tackles and an interception with a 29-yard return.
AU's opening possession reached the WSC 23 with help from a pass-interference penalty, but
Jake Pecina's 40-yard field-goal attempt missed, and the Wildcats gained nine yards before punting. After the stop, Hensley hit Page for a 78-yard touchdown at 8:50, and Pecina's extra point put the Vikings ahead 7-0. WSC picked up one first down on the next series before punting again, and AU answered with an 85-yard drive that included Hensley's 39-yard completion to
Cody Oswald and his 15-yard touchdown pass to
Klayton Sattler for a 14-0 lead. The Wildcats moved into the red zone late but the first quarter ended with Augustana leading 14-0 and WSC at the Augustana 7.
The Wildcats began the second quarter in the red zone and a 23-yard field goal at 14:14 made it 14-3. Augustana answered with a 75-yard drive, converting third-and-10 on Hensley's 12-yard pass to Sattler before Blount broke a 39-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1; Pecina's PAT pushed the lead to 21-3. WSC came back with a 53-yard touchdown pass at 9:01, but the Vikings followed with a 13-play, 59-yard drive that ended on Pecina's 26-yard field goal for a 24-10 score at 2:49. The defense forced a Wildcats punt on the next possession, and AU ran the final 1:05 off the clock to carry the 24-10 lead into halftime.
WSC opened the third quarter with a 75-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard touchdown run and extra point to make it 24-17. Augustana answered with Hensley's 43-yard completion to Page on its first snap of the next drive, and Pecina finished the possession with a 22-yard field goal at 8:06 for a 27-17 lead. The Wildcats moved back into the red zone with a 37-yard pass but
Trey Malone III broke up a pass after a false start, and Belongia intercepted McGill at the Augustana 1 before
Camron Maciejewski recovered Belongia's fumble at the Augustana 30. Hensley converted third-and-10 with a 28-yard pass to Page and later hit
Isaiah Lemmond for a 19-yard touchdown at 1:19, with Pecina's kick putting AU ahead 34-17 before the defense forced a late punt.
After Augustana punted on its opening fourth-quarter possession, WSC moved 80 yards and scored on a 5-yard run at 9:00, with the kick making it 34-24. The Vikings answered with a drive into the red zone, using Hensley's 14-yard completion to Page and Blount's 17-yard run to reach the WSC 13 before Pecina's 26-yard field goal attempt missed at 5:20. The Wildcats crossed midfield on the next series, but
Eli Detert sacked McGill for a 10-yard loss and
Jack Detert stopped McGill a yard short on fourth-and-6 at the Augustana 36 with 3:08 left. Blount picked up the needed first down on AU's final possession, and Hensley kneeled out the clock to close a 34-24 win.
UP NEXT
Augustana will now await the NCAA selection show to find out their next opponent. The reveal will stream on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
--GoAugie.com--
